WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.799 Today's episode of the Tribe Cast is sponsored by the 2 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:14.400 Texas Tribune Speakers Bureau. Welcome to the Trib Cast. I'm 3 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:17.760 Eleanor Klibanoff, joined by co host and editor in chief 4 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:23.000 Matthew Watkins. Our other co host, James Bargon, is off today. Matthew, 5 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:23.440 how are you? 6 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:24.879 I'm doing great? How about yourself? 7 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:25.920 Pretty good? Pretty good? 8 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.320 Just the two of us, indeed lonely up here. 9 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.120 Yeah, we've got some guests on zoom that we're going 10 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:34.799 to turn too shortly. But before we get into that, Matthew, 11 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:36.759 I did want to talk to you about what's going 12 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:40.439 on over at Texas A and M. You're a proud alum. 13 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.520 I understand that is true. 14 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.320 Yet not hiding. I'm very I may have brought it 15 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:47.759 up once. 16 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.000 Or twice, may have worn the ring occasionally, but you know, 17 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:54.280 as the Texas Tribune has sort of exclusively reported this week, 18 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.159 the Board of Regents is down to five candidates for chancellor. 19 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.640 We're hearing down to Texas Controller Glenn Hagar, US Rep. 20 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.879 Michael McCall, Texas A and M Foundation President Tyson Vocal. 21 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:12.480 Is that right right? University of Alabama President Stuart Bell, 22 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.560 and State Rep. Trent Ashby. Are you offended that you're 23 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:17.280 not on the list? 24 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.560 I mean, you know, the chancellor does make a pretty 25 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:23.760 good salary. I will say that it is a pretty 26 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.959 hard job, though, you know, I think when you talk 27 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.799 about like sort of differing constituencies, higher ed administrator right 28 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.599 now in Texas is a pretty challenging one. You've got 29 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:39.760 a very conservative legislator and governor who's appointing the board 30 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:45.760 of Regents. Many of those legislators and regents seem uniquely 31 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:49.280 interested right now in the you know, social media postings 32 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.599 and emails and various other things of a very large 33 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:57.599 group of faculty members. It seems like if you're in 34 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.000 this job, you're probably going to have to be called 35 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:03.200 on to explain, you know, some of those things in 36 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:05.359 a way that you're probably not going to find very fun. 37 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:09.759 You then also have a you know, young constituency, a 38 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:13.919 faculty that maybe doesn't align as much politically with the 39 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:19.039 rest of the legislature, and it creates just you know, 40 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.159 it might be impossible to keep all those happy. So 41 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:24.199 you're you're earning all those all those dollars in that jump. 42 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.039 You're also responsible for a bunch of eighteen to twenty 43 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:28.319 two year olds, which is a nightmare. 44 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.360 Indeed, indeed and perhaps most challenging. You are, you know, 45 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.639 at the very top of the food chain as things 46 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.639 go down toward the football team, right and as you 47 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:44.759 are an aggy Yeah, you're probably grumpy about all the 48 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:51.280 football and all the the the you know, missed opportunities there, 49 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.680 the losses to certain other teams and everything like that. 50 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.000 That's why I have my eye on this Alabama University 51 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.240 of Alabama president Stuart Bell. I wonder if he goes 52 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.719 into the board of Regions and says, look, I know I. 53 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.879 Know how to win a couple of them. Yeah. I 54 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:09.319 grew up in a a role tide family, so I 55 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:13.199 am you know, gonna be honest, I don't know the 56 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:15.400 Texas A and M that we want that, you know, 57 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:17.599 people from Alabama want Texas A and M coming and 58 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:18.479 taking their president. 59 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.879 But uh, well, you know you have to let people. 60 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:22.199 Hasn't been the best season. 61 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:25.599 That can't be you. You've found yourself in Texas, you can't. 62 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.000 You know, That's true. Me and Stuart Bell both finding 63 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.800 ourselves in Texas. Perhaps, Yeah, well we'll be watching that. 64 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:35.520 Our crack higher education team is like, you know, very 65 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:36.360 well sourced on that front. 66 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:37.879 Yeah, yeah, seriously though, I mean, I think it's really 67 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.280 interesting to watch because you've got a few, like pretty 68 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:44.800 prominent political positions on this list, right, I mean, if 69 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.199 if if Hagger is the choice, then you have a 70 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.840 statewide elected office up for grabs, there will probably be 71 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:55.280 some jockeying there. Of course, Michael McCall, a fairly prominent 72 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.719 member of Congress, would also be a pretty notable change. 73 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:02.080 And then you know trin Ashby is well, so there's 74 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:04.960 there's possible domino effects here that could be really interesting 75 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:05.360 to watch. 76 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:07.319 Yeah, it really speaks to like how important this is 77 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:10.800 not a figurehead position, and John Sharp, who held the 78 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:13.840 position before, certainly I think contributed to making it into 79 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.759 the political powerhouse role that it is. 80 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:16.240 Indeed. 81 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.199 All right, so we'll keep Matthew at the head of 82 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.319 the Texas Tribune, We'll keep one of these guys at 83 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.199 the head of Texas A. 84 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:25.040 And m I'm still available, willing to watch it call. 85 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:27.560 You know, I think everyone is in the role they 86 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:31.720 should be. But you know, that is not what we 87 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:33.560 are here to talk about this week. We are gonna 88 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:36.839 this week, you know, usually we're sort of looking ahead 89 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:39.040 to what the legislature is going to do this session, 90 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.240 which we are going to talk about. But to start, 91 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:43.199 we're actually going to look back on where the states 92 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.920 stood about a year ago. Here in Texas, the largest 93 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.959 wildfire in state history ripped through the Panhandle. More than 94 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.839 a million acres burned, at least two people and ten 95 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:57.800 thousand cattle died. The financial losses totaled more than one 96 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.800 billion dollars. We're gonna talk about things stand in the 97 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:04.439 Panhandle now a year later, what ranchers and residents hope 98 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:07.720 the legislature might do this session, and how Texas can 99 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:11.800 better prepare for wildfires more generally. We're joined by Jamie 100 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:17.199 Lozano Carver, the Tribune's high planes reporter who's based in Lubbock. Hi, Jamie, Hi, 101 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:19.600 eleanor how is in Lubbock these days? 102 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:24.160 It's actually getting warmer this week, so it's been pretty nice. 103 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:28.040 Great. We're also joined by doctor Carle Purdham from the 104 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:31.319 University of Houston, who's the lead investigator on a research 105 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:34.639 project looking at the Panhandle wildfires and how communities in 106 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:38.639 Texas are managing wildfire risk. Welcome doctor Purdam. 107 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:39.920 Thank you. It's great to be here. 108 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:45.720 Thank you both for joining us on this really important topic. Jamie, 109 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:49.160 you covered these fires a year ago. Just tell us 110 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:51.000 about that experience, like what it was like for you 111 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:52.920 going up there and seeing that. 112 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.279 Well, you know, it was it was a very hard experience. 113 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:00.000 It was very sad because you know, I went up 114 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.360 there within I think it was the first day that 115 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.040 the fires had started, and so one of the first 116 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.079 stops that I made was at the dairy queen and fridge, 117 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.759 and that's where a lot of the firefighters were taking 118 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.279 a break, and you could kind of see how exhausted 119 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:18.399 they looked. A lot of them looked checked out at 120 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.639 that point after what they had been dealing with. And 121 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:24.279 then even just driving around, you could already see the 122 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.879 effects taking place. There was smoke all over the region. 123 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:31.519 The ground was black. Unfortunately, like you mentioned, there was 124 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.240 a lot of dead cattle that was just out in 125 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.319 the open that people could just see. And of course, 126 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.279 you know, we saw a lot of a lot of 127 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:41.279 people coming through to help too. We saw a lot 128 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.439 of trucks going through and carrying bales of hay for 129 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:48.480 the ranchers that needed it. And you know, I think 130 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:51.399 that what it's probably stuck with me. The most was 131 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.079 just kind of seeing the makeshift shelters that were put 132 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:59.600 up around all the cities that were affected, where they 133 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:02.800 just had people from the Panhandle Foal who were either 134 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.759 helping or who were scared and trying to escape what 135 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:09.040 was going on. So, yeah, it was just it was 136 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:11.759 very it was hard, you know, just. 137 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:14.360 To put in context. I'm I'm looking this up on 138 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:18.480 my phone as we're talking. The Los Angeles area wildfires. 139 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:23.439 You know, obviously terrible tragedy, a much denser area. Fifty 140 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.759 seven thousand, six hundred and sixty five acres burned in 141 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:31.240 that fire. The Panhandle fire burned over one million acres, 142 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.600 you know, obviously different locations there, a lot of different properties, 143 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:37.920 but still in the scale, the scale of the fire 144 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:42.319 was pretty unbelievable in terms of how widespread it was 145 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:43.560 across this area of the state. 146 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:43.920 Yeah. 147 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:47.319 Absolutely, Also, Jamie, you are just to let people behind 148 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:49.120 the curtain a little bit, and you cited one of 149 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.560 the number one reporting techniques in the world, which is 150 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.879 go to the dairy queen. You can usually it's usually 151 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:58.079 a good first stop. Jamie, Like a year later, what 152 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:00.480 do we know about how these fires started? Sort of 153 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:03.519 how they unfolded and looking back, like, you know, what's 154 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:06.199 the sort of total count on the impact for ranchers 155 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:07.519 and residents of that area. 156 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:11.319 So you know that I should really say that week, 157 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:15.040 while everything was starting and really spreading around the region, 158 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:19.600 there were five fires that were just going through that 159 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:22.519 were scattered, and I would say within that first twenty 160 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:26.360 four hours had already burned a lot of the acres 161 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:30.519 that we were talking about. The House committee that investigated 162 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.559 the fires last year, they found that the fires were 163 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.960 actually started by failed power lines. You know, in the 164 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.639 case of the Smokehouse Creek fire, which, like you said before, 165 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:44.039 it became the biggest fire in state history, the ignition 166 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.639 was from a decayed power line that had the decayed 167 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:50.840 power poll that broke and fell into dry grass. So 168 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.000 it was just, you know, it was it was a 169 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.759 ignition that was just waiting to happen, essentially, And we 170 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.759 also know that they the fire spread and incredibly fast 171 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:05.159 that day because of the high winds, So we just 172 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.039 kind of know how that played out. But as far 173 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:10.960 as the impact goes, I think the financial loss has 174 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.440 been one of the hardest aspects for the residents in 175 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.240 the Panhandle to come back from ranchers in particular, have 176 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.000 had to worry about, you know, equipment, like getting their 177 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:23.360 fences and gates fixed just so they can keep their 178 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.080 cattle in their pastures. And that's a lot, even if 179 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.759 you don't lose a majority of your livestock. And I think, 180 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:34.480 you know, aside from financial I think the biggest toll 181 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.159 would be the mental impact that this has had for 182 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.039 people up there. I was visiting Canadian a few weeks ago, 183 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.679 and there are people there who get scared whenever they 184 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.639 hear the emergency sirens go off. You know, It's a 185 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.240 year later and they're still very anxious about it. 186 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.440 Yeah, absolutely, I mean that sort of we talk about 187 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:58.120 sort of like climate change and the almost like PTSD 188 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.279 effects of living through a natural disaster, whether it's you know, 189 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:06.159 a fire, a flood, anything like that. Doctor Purdam, your 190 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.720 work looks a little bit sort of what happens after 191 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:11.840 the fire recedes and the recovery begins. Tell us a 192 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.159 little bit about the research you're doing in the Panhandle 193 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.159 and the challenges these communities are going to face as 194 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:17.799 they rebuild. 195 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.639 Sure, so I'm involved in two projects. 196 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.960 What I'm leading is looking at the Panhandle and a 197 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:28.879 lot of the challenges that face emergency management, but also 198 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:33.039 a lot of the healthcare infrastructure and just being in 199 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.840 a rural area, how they how the disaster impacted their 200 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:42.000 decision making. You know, we invest a lot in plans 201 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.440 and you know, putting together you know, scenarios of what 202 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.559 would you do if a wildfire happened, and this was 203 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.799 you know, wildfires are very different from say a hazard 204 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:57.320 like a hurricane, because it's very difficult to predict, it's 205 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.360 very difficult to keep track of where the impact is growing. 206 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:04.120 The situation just changes so quickly. So looking at you know, 207 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:10.759 this disaster and how how emergency management, how local communities 208 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:14.399 and leaders, how they responded, and what you know, how 209 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:19.480 the unique, how the uniqueness of the massive scale of 210 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:23.080 the wildfire, how that impacted their decision making, what would 211 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.080 they take into the next wildfire? And then you know, 212 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.399 just broadly, Uh, I'm part of another project, uh working 213 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.639 with folks at Texas A and M, the Hazard Reduction 214 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.559 Recovery Center, the USA Center for Oral Preparedness, and we're 215 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.600 broadly looking at Texas and other goal states on you know, 216 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:47.799 how are communities responding to increasing wildfire risk, especially in 217 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:50.039 rural areas, and so we see a lot of the 218 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.840 same you know, challenges, and that folks are dealing with 219 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:58.000 increasing risk and increasing vulnerability. We know, the folks in 220 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.840 the Panhandle know that this won't be the last wildfire 221 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:06.519 in that area, and knowing that you are recovering and 222 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:11.320 you're trying to you know, rebuild, and but also having 223 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.840 to think, you know what, you know, how are we rebuilding? 224 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:18.840 How are we you know, reviewing our plans and reviewing 225 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:23.799 our practices to be prepared for what is coming next. 226 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.360 So they're on that front line of knowing that the 227 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.480 risk is there and trying to you know, recover, but 228 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:34.720 also be prepared for, you know, the next wildfire disaster. 229 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.960 Doctor Brintham. You know, I feel like when we talk 230 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.679 about what led to an incident like this, it's often 231 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.879 the same thing, right, you know, you had maybe a 232 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:49.159 wet period, you know, in the time leading up to it, 233 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.519 leading to lots of growth, then a dry period that 234 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.200 follows that, which leads to a lot of sort of 235 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:57.559 you know, for lack of a better term, sort of 236 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.360 kindling for a fire. Then you get a very dry 237 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:04.399 period with high winds and some kind of inciting incident, 238 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:07.200 right like a power line going down, you know, someone 239 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.480 throwing a cigarette out the window or anything like that. 240 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:11.720 I mean, a lot of those things are very hard 241 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:15.360 to control. I'm curious as you look back at this fire, 242 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.080 whether this is an incident of just conditions were right 243 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:22.399 for this and there's not much you could do, or 244 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.720 were there things that went wrong either in the preparation 245 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:30.200 or the response to the fire that made this worse 246 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.080 than it might have otherwise could have been. 247 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.759 Well, I think you know, when we talk about disasters, 248 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.840 most disaster scholars we don't even really refer to them 249 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:42.200 as natural. We refer to them as disasters because the 250 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:47.000 term natural disaster implies that there's nothing you could do 251 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:49.960 about it, and that there's something that's coming from the outside. 252 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:53.320 And that's how we've responded to disasters before. But we 253 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:55.039 know with risk, there are a lot of things we 254 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:59.120 can do to mitigate risk. And you know, I know 255 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.120 that the the areas that we are seeing that are 256 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:08.039 impacted in especially rural communities, are you know, on the 257 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:11.759 front lines. They are leading response efforts, and they're from 258 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:15.240 our research and from a lot of that involves going 259 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:21.399 into communities in the Panhandle across Texas Louisiana. We know 260 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:25.720 that especially local fire departments, they're on the front lines 261 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.080 of responding to these you know kinds of crisis and 262 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:30.919 not just in terms of you know, we think of 263 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.320 firefighters as when the fire is there, that they're going 264 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:38.559 out and responding to them. But with you know, risk 265 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:42.279 and the increasing risk is in so many of these communities, 266 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.600 they know that it's there, they're seeing it, and they 267 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:48.360 are working to you know, they have a new you know, 268 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:52.159 you know task that's been put on them. Another another 269 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.919 burden in addition to just responding to risk, but in 270 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:59.440 communicating and trying to advocate to individuals in the communities 271 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:05.120 to local governments that where the risk is. In communities 272 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.399 across Texas, you know, there's a lot of different challenges, 273 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:11.519 especially with you have a lot of people moving in 274 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:15.080 from out of state or from other communities into more 275 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:20.720 rural areas and there's increasing development in the wild and 276 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:25.679 urban interface and that has created a lot of challenges 277 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:29.519 especially in how just changes in land management. So in 278 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:35.399 conversations with and with leaders and fire departments and emergency management, 279 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:39.919 local government, you know, that's causing a lot of risk 280 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:43.000 to be developed. So it's people who you know, they 281 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.759 may come in and be you know, a part of 282 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:49.159 the community that maybe was before unmanaged wild land and 283 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:52.559 now it's a development with say like ten acre lots 284 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:54.840 in them, and each lot now has a fence line, 285 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:59.679 and where before maybe that the land and the fuel there, 286 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.200 the assets and things we're being managed and now it's 287 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.679 all that kind of fuel is building up, and maybe 288 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.360 that person you know in that community don't realize that 289 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.840 what they're doing is you know, creating more risk that's 290 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.720 going to be difficult for the fire department to manage, 291 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:18.840 and then also creating a lot more challenges in terms 292 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:22.919 of responding to fires, So creating more fence lines and 293 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.879 more private property that folks are going to have to navigate. 294 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:31.399 So there's a lot of different intersecting challenges and I 295 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.200 can say from the most important thing that we've learned 296 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:38.879 is really listening more to the folks who are on 297 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.200 the front lines, who aren't just yes, they're responding to 298 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.840 the disaster, but they're seeing the risk build up every 299 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.919 day and are are working to try to communicate that. 300 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:53.639 But they need to be empowered. And that's what part 301 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:56.279 of our project is is taking down the lessons that 302 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:59.639 they've learned, and trying to communicate them so that they 303 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:02.480 can be you know, empowered and listen to with with 304 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.319 the increasing risks they're seeing in their communities. 305 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:10.400 Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, certainly that development I think we're 306 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.599 seeing everywhere. We're gonna talk a little bit about, you know, 307 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:16.920 how this is not just a Panhandle issue, but Jamie 308 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:18.559 tell us a little bit. I mean, I know, after 309 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.240 the wildfires, there was a lot of talk about, you know, 310 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.680 the legislature is going to come back, there's things we 311 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:27.519 need them to do to help us both you know, 312 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.599 respond better in the future, but also sort of rebuild 313 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:35.400 these communities. What do people in the Panhandle want this 314 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:38.039 session and what sort of are we seeing momentum on. 315 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:43.839 Well, really, I think people in the Panhandle just want 316 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:47.440 this to be addressed in some way, you know. In particular, 317 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.799 I was hearing that they want, you know, if there 318 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:52.519 was some way like to do kind of like a 319 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:56.960 fire task force. There's one proposal in the legislature right 320 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:01.279 now where it would be creating a database firefighting equipment 321 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.960 that's readily available in the state, and they love that proposal. 322 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.599 So really, you know, we're talking about an area that 323 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:14.160 has historically felt ignored by Austin and by the lawmakers there, 324 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:17.720 and I think that that's what they're aiming for. They 325 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:19.880 want to see this get addressed on a much bigger 326 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:24.400 level than how they typically address it at home. But 327 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:26.720 then on top of that, I do think that there's momentum. 328 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:31.359 I think that you know, there is probably people who 329 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:35.119 may have forgotten about what happened, or you know, who 330 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.359 think things are fine now. But if that's the case, 331 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.640 you know, there are lawmakers who represent the Panhandle that 332 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.319 are not letting that happen. You know. Like I said earlier, 333 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.720 it's it's Senator Kevin Sparks who filed the bill about 334 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:56.039 creating the firefighting Equipment Database. He and Representative King also 335 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.880 filed joint bills that would fund rural Volunteer fire Department. 336 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.359 But I think the one that people in the Panhandle 337 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.880 are most excited about is another bill that was filed 338 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.799 by King, who you know, of course, he was born 339 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:13.000 and raised in Canadian so he has a really good 340 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:15.400 idea of what they're dealing with and what they need. 341 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:19.880 And his bill would essentially give that authority to address 342 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.839 faulty electrical lines to both the public utility Commission and 343 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:28.799 the Railroad Commission. And so, for those who may not remember, 344 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.480 this was a big point of contention during the investigative 345 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:34.839 hearings last year because neither authority felt that it was 346 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:38.000 their jurisdiction and it was being called, you know, essentially 347 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.160 a no man's land, and so that made it very 348 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:45.079 difficult to determine which agencies should be overseeing that maintenance. 349 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.599 And that is probably, I would say, the most pressing concern, 350 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:53.039 especially for ranchers out there, who you know, aside from 351 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.440 large wildfires just about every year, they also deal with 352 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:59.279 smaller fires that still affect them on a daily basis. 353 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.799 Matthew, a thing we've talked about seemingly endlessly in the 354 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:07.079 early episodes of this podcast, the Speaker's Race, it comes 355 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:10.799 full circle. We have, you know, a speaker from from 356 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:15.200 the Panhandle representing do we consider lub Oh my god, 357 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:18.519 am I going to get chased out of town? Write 358 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:22.720 a story that was like, this is the first Panhandle speaker, 359 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:24.720 Oh God. 360 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:30.759 Close to the Panhandle. So technically technically Lubbock is the Panhandle. 361 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:32.640 Kelly On. 362 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:35.559 Yeah, if you ask anybody in Lubbock, they will not 363 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.200 say we're the Panhandle. We are the South Plains or 364 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.920 we're West Texas. 365 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.599 Okay, but I believe what I did here was technically 366 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.680 I am correct. 367 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:46.880 I would like to have. 368 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.319 Yeah, sorry, I played by the rules. You know, We've 369 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:53.960 got a lot more to talk about. I do want 370 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:55.519 to take a quick break, and I encourage people stick 371 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.920 around because we at the end of this episode, we'll 372 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:01.680 have an update on one of the feel good stories 373 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.480 coming out of the wildfires. We got a little update 374 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:07.000 to offer you guys on that story, So do stick around. 375 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.599 Let's take a quick break and thank our sponsors, the 376 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:14.720 Texas Tribune Speakers Bureau. Deliver Texas sized insight at your 377 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:18.480 next event. With the Texas Tribune Speakers Bureau. Our reporters 378 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:20.920 and editors are ready to bring your event to life 379 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:24.759 with context and analysis. Only they can deliver. Book us 380 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.799 at Texastribune dot org slash speakers. 381 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.039 I kind of interrupted you. Was there actually a question 382 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.000 you were wanting to ask there about the speaker? 383 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:37.039 We actually did get distracted? Is that kind of like, well, no, 384 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:38.960 I don't it doesn't apply anymore. 385 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:39.519 I ruined it. 386 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.480 Okay, Well no, Also, the question was like, do you 387 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.519 think the fact that we have a speaker who is 388 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:48.640 from near the Panhandle might put more attention on Panhandle issues, 389 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.799 a region that, as Jamie said, often feels sort of ignored. 390 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:55.119 I mean, I think, Jamie, I'm interested in hearing your 391 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:57.440 thoughts on this, but I think it's I think the 392 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.480 people up there found that very meaningful. I mean, you know, 393 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:06.960 Caroline Fairly, who's from Amarillo, which is the Panhandle, you know, 394 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:09.680 really actually cited that as one of the reasons she 395 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:13.039 was she was getting on Burrow's side, and I think 396 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:14.799 there were a lot of people kind of in that 397 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:19.480 region feeling like someone who understands this very unique part 398 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.200 of the state is meaningful for questions like this, not 399 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.920 just around you know, wildfire mitigation or response, but also 400 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:29.839 healthcare and education and a lot of the other things 401 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.160